Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is used for many as a day of service or activism to commemorate the legacy of the civil rights icon.
It's also used by some as a political talking point to posthumously invoke King's approval to causes that he likely would have abhorred.
Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway went the latter route on Monday when she claimed that the impeachment of her boss, President Donald Trump, encroached upon rights that Dr. King fought for.
Conway said:
"The President is preparing for Davos and agrees with many of the things that Dr. Martin Luther King stood for and agrees for many years, including unity and equality...[W]hen you see the articles of impeachment that came out, I don't think it was Dr. King's vision to have Americans dragged through a process where the president is not going to be removed from office, is not being charged bribery, extortion, high crimes and misdemeanors."
Dr. King was a strong critic of capitalism and of white moderates who stayed neutral in the face of rampant injustice.
King's daughter, Bernice King, made sure to let Conway know that.
People sided with King against the attempted sanitization of his legacy by a government that targeted him his entire adult life.
Trump had no official events scheduled for Dr. King's day, but did make an unannounced visit to his memorial in Washington with Vice President Mike Pence. They stood in front of the memorial for around 30 seconds.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Ronald Grump the Muppet in 1988; Joe Pesci as Ronald Grump in 1994; Donald Grump in 2005PBS
PBS
PBS
